This article describes some of the underlying conceptualizations that have gone into the work of the BEAR Center in the development of learning progressions. The core of all of these developments has been the construct map, which is the first building block in the BEAR Assessment System (BAS). After introducing the concept of a learning…

Launch into education about pharmacology (LEAP) is an inquiry-based science enrichment program designed to enhance competence in biology and chemistry and foster interest in science careers especially among under-represented minorities. The study of how drugs work, how they enter cells, alter body chemistry, and exit the body engages students to…

Principals who are determined to help their teachers inspire all students to bold accomplishments while identifying the right strategies for their most complex and struggling learners need to have a relentless focus on making "learning" the core business of school. This isn't the same as emphasizing assessment data, standards, and…

Digital media applications (DMAs) have emerged in abundance over the last ten years. Enabled by exponential growth in computing power and inexpensive data storage, these applications are easy to use and inexpensive (often free) to own. DMAs not only allow users to produce digital content efficiently they allow users to exploit the connective power…

The purpose of this qualitative, comparative case study was to determine the extent to which learning and improvement cultures were perceived to be linked to the traditional and non-traditional accreditation and Program Outcomes Assessment paradigms in use in two university hospitality programs. The findings of this study revealed that the…

We investigated the reading and spelling development of 140 Persian children attending Grades 1-4 in Iran. Persian has very consistent letter-sound correspondences, but it varies in transparency because 3 of its 6 vowel phonemes are not marked with letters. Persian also varies in spelling consistency because 6 phonemes have more than one…

Teaching thinking skills to students is often associated with a thinking strategy or a specific thinking technique. The strategy or technique may refer to a series of steps that is systematically drawn up to ensure that the teaching of thinking skills takes place effectively. In the case of Malaysia, a conceptual framework of Thinking Skill…

In this paper, we present a design research study in Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) that emphasizes learner created content and contextualized meaning making. In learning Chinese idioms, students proactively used smartphones on a 1:1 basis to capture photos of the real-life contexts pertaining to the idioms, and to construct sentences…

Universities can offer eLearning 2.0 tools and services to learners while obtaining clear benefits from releasing the control over some learning content. This means a shift from the institution centred and monolithic model of traditional virtual learning environments (VLEs) to a more heterogeneous and open model. This article tries to plot an…

Responses of Vietnamese undergraduate students majoring in English to the integration of a Moodle site during an upper intermediate macro-skill course highlight differences in learner autonomy and expectations. Students' general attitudes towards and participation in this online Web 2.0 environment provide the basis for the research reported in…

Whilst there is considerable literature on feedback for students and on the use of audio feedback, literature in the area of podcasting assignment feedback (PAF) remains sparse. Partly, this may be due to a lack of clarity about what counts as feedback, the way in which feedback is located pedagogically and the relationship between feedback…

The present study was carried out within a systems analysis and design workshop. In addition to the standard analysis and design tasks, this workshop included practices designed to enhance student capabilities related to non-technical knowledge areas, such as critical thinking, interpersonal and team skills, and business understanding. Each task…

In a study of urban secondary teachers moving out of professional development and into their classrooms, the research team documented the learning processes of teachers and student groups during their digital video composing to make sense of the curriculum. Taken together, these ethnographic case studies provide evidence that digital video…

Background/Context: Research shows that teachers' understandings of students, subject, and teaching influence their classroom practice. Additionally, teachers' colleagues have a role in shaping individuals' approaches to teaching and their responses to reform. Focus of Study: To understand how interactions with colleagues support teachers'…

This study examined how constructivist and didactic instruction was related to students' cognitive, motivational, and achievement outcomes in English classrooms, using a sample of 3000 Grade 9 students from 108 classrooms in 39 secondary schools in Singapore. Results of hierarchical linear modeling showed differential cross-level relations. After…